Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Not grown-ups.

Later this month I'm attending a writer's conference at which the keynote speaker will be Ann M. Martin. Yes THAT Ann M. Martin, the immortal scribe of those influential volumes, the Baby-sitters Club!

I just loved those books. I can still remember tons of minor details about them, like the way they had to pick a meeting place based on land-line availability (Claudia had her own phone line!) and the way Stacey was terrified to disclose the fact that she was diabetic for fear of looking like a freak and the way Dawn's family was really into health food and all of the original girls' full names:

Kristy (Kristin Amanda Thomas)
Claudia (Claudia Lynn Kishi)
Mary Anne (Mary Anne Spier)
Stacey (Anastasia Elizabeth McGill)
Dawn (Dawn Read Schafer)

and then Jessi Ramsey and Mallory Pike joined as junior babysitters but I don't remember their middle names, unfortunately.

BSC #9, The Ghost at Dawn's House, was the first chapter book I ever read, and I still think it's super spooky. Oh, and the Super Specials! Remember the one where they went on the cruise? And the one where Stacey and her mom got snowed in in their car? And the one in which the baby-sitters took on Manhattan and one of the kids threw up in Central Park?

So, yeah. I am pretty excited to see Ann M. Martin in the flesh. Especially considering that even at that young age (7) I was savvy enough in the ways of publishing to assume they were ghost-written. The Ghost at Dawn's House, indeed!

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I was always more of a "The Fabulous Five" sort of girl.

theotherlion said...

ANN MARTIN. AMAZING. Almost as good as Cleary. One of the teachers here named her baby girl Cleary. (Not after the author, but still cute.) I remember the one where the girl was embarassed because she was a latch key kid. Her mom wasn't--gasp--home with warm cookies and milk at 3pm. I also loved Best Friends 4 Ever, where I originally learned the phrase U R 2 Sweet 2 B 4 Got 10. Which, by the way, you are. =) So happy you are feeling good and living it up at your new place. I think we talked once about how we wouldn't feel like official grown-ups until we had regular sized beds! I am still waiting.....

sarah said...

i think i read every single one of those books, even in like the sixth grade when it was beyond cool at that point.

but i didn't remember all of their names, not even the last names, so you've got me beat!

ps, you're lucky!

Laura said...

Well, I was 7 when I read my first one, but I'm sure I was still reading them at age 13. Haha, and I remember how one of my friends insisted that Dawn's last name was pronounced "chaffeur" and I was like, um, no it isn't. I really hate it when people stubbornly insist on things and then turn out to be WRONG!

Kathy said...

OMG. I still have all of mine. I don't know that I will ever be able to part with them. They unfortunately live at my mother's house and I am sure she is really appreciative. I remember my friend reading them and thinking "that seems so lame" and then I read one and the rest is history.

oma said...

I am so jealous. Mostly because I am now the teacher librarian and get to suggest those books to kids. I love the new aspect to my job/career. Next week Crutcher will be in the area. I think I may go see him.

Laura said...

Hi Oma!